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March23

Living
Water

On Friday evening I was watching the
local news when it was reported that Giant Eagle would be closing two Toledo
area stores around May first. As the
camera was facing the Rossford store, the reporter interviewed two customers in
the parking lot for their reactions. One
said that they were saddened because that is where all of her friends
shopped. The second customer said they
couldn’t figure out why a store would close when it was doing so well.

Before I continue, I have to acknowledge
that I don’t have any ‘inside’ information regarding the store. However, as the reporter mentioned, the area
is saturated with big named grocery stores in Walmart, Meijer, and Kroger. I have my doubts that the store was doing
well. Businesses that are doing well are
not usually closing their doors.

During my years in the business
world, it was widely understood that struggling organizations would not let it
be known to their customers that they were having financial difficulty unless
it was absolutely necessary. Such a
perception leads to decreased sales.
People generally want to shop at successful
stores. So even though the budget for
Giant Eagle was more than likely taking a hit, there were customers under the
impression that the store was doing well.

We do the same thing in our own
lives. Rarely do you see or hear someone
sharing their struggles openly. Most
people want to be seen as strong, which often translates as taking care of
things without outside support. They
won’t ask for help until they’ve hit rock bottom. They won’t ask for directions until they are
dizzy from going in circles. For some it
would be a sign of weakness, unacceptable.

Jesus sat at the community well in
the town center as the Samaritan woman came for water during the noonday
heat. Notice that she and Jesus are the
only two people in this setting for conversation. Most people typically went to the well in the
cooler morning or evening hours. This
seems to indicate that the woman didn’t associate well with the community. Maybe others have seen glimpses of her
skeletons within the closet that does not shut tightly.

It might make us squirm a little
when the phrase ‘skeletons in the closet’ is mentioned. You know what I’m talking about…the actions
that only a few of your closest friends know about, a relationship kept under
wraps for any number of reasons, an embarrassing habit that is kept under lock
and key by the immediate family. You are
safe as long as the skeleton remains confined to a small controlled group of
people.

Secrets are like living in the desert
without water. They make us vulnerable
and choke joy from our lives. We are
only as secure as the weakest link who takes our water from us. What if someone were to tell the secret? How quickly would it become gossip? What would it do to a reputation? And so the person with the secret lives with
anxiety, thirsty for peace, but giving their water to the one who might talk in
order to buy their quietness. Unforgiven
secrets steal our life.

The woman came to the well at noon
so that she didn’t have to listen to the whispers and see the stares directed
toward her. Jesus said to the woman, “everyone
who drinks of this water will be thirsty again but the living water that I give
will gush up to eternal life.”
She was thirsty for peace. Her
spirit was parched for acceptance. She
desperately wanted this living water.

And then Jesus poured a few drops of
living water on her tongue but in a way she wasn’t expecting. He exposed her secret. He told her that he knew she had 5 husbands
and the man she was currently with was not a husband. Imagine her shock! She intentionally went to the well at noon to
prevent facing the shame and guilt of her past and now a stranger from a
foreign land knows!

Oh the pain of facing our
imperfections, our insecurities, and our sins.
But Jesus handled the situation differently than the others in the
community. He didn’t judge her or
condemn her. He didn’t stare or laugh at
her. He didn’t start spreading rumors or
gossip. Instead, he understood her pain
of not being accepted for who she was.
He was gracious to her. And he is
gracious to us.

No matter the mask that we attempt
to use to hide our own pain and sin, Jesus already knows it. We may be able to fool those around us, but
we cannot fool God. He knows us better
than we know ourselves and he is more gracious to us than anyone else (including
ourselves). We are often our own worst
judge.

The woman recognized him as the
Messiah and went to tell others about him.
They in turn came to Jesus and also believed thanks to a woman who was
freed from the desert of hiding skeletons.
She went to the community that snubbed her. The living water of Jesus washed away the
shame and guilt placed upon her by her community and herself. No matter what they said, Jesus loved
her. And that’s the life-giving water
that matters. Amen.